by Joanne Wadsworth | Oct 28, 2012 | Author Blog
Before I jump into answering the header’s question, stay tuned, for at the end of this post, I’ll be announcing the winner of last week’s critique offer.
So, let’s jump into this week’s post. A fabulous blog follower posed this question to me–can one finish their novel without help? She’d tried groups, classes and other writers’ books. All great ideas, but was still unsure of her execution.
I considered her question for all of one-second, because my answer is a resounding “yes, you can.”
In fact this year I’ve met a dozen new authors whose debut novels are releasing with publishers, as well as an equal number whose debut novels are being self-published–and all due to their own hard work. Yes, no one else’s, but their own. At the moment, there’s nothing a writer can’t do. In fact, this is the most amazing time for us. There’s a revolution underway and the digital opportunities are opening up.
So, let’s delve deeper into that question–“can you finish your novel without help?”–and I’ll offer a touch of advice for what you need to do from the very beginning, because you’ll most likely be doing this, I imagine. Here are my answers in bulleted points for ease of reading.
- Read, read, read. Take note of punctuation, chapter formats and storyline structure. Even now, no matter how busy I am with my writing, I still set aside thirty minutes to an hour at the end of each day to read. A writer must read.
- Do your research by checking out websites belonging to publishers and agents who are open for submissions in your genre. See what they’re asking for.
- All I’m saying is, more than anything, do your research. Know what your targets are when you first start out.
Okay, so let’s move on and cover one’s execution of their work.
- Be unique and find your own writer’s voice. I heard this advice over and over–and I have to say, it took me two years to nail that. It’s not an easy task. To begin with my writing followed the voices of my favorite authors with my sentence structure. Then there was a sudden change. It came about when I allowed my writing to flow as if I spoke. Now, let’s not forget I’m from New Zealand, and since there’re only four million of us in my tiny country, I really should have been able to nail this uniqueness sooner.
- On the writing front though, remember to embrace the five senses: sight, smell, taste, feel, speak. Bring the reader into the written world you’ve created using all the senses available. When you’re doing your daily reading–make sure you’re researching. I never read a book without a pad and pen on hand. Seriously. Try it, if you’re not already.
- Utilize dialogue, action, emotion and thought, ensuring you give you a good blend of each within the pages you write.
- Always “show” instead of “tell.” (For further clarification on this, I have several posts with this “show, don’t tell” header.) It’s an important point to note, for publishers want authors to “show” within their written word and not to tell a reader what’s happening.
- Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. There are so many drafts before a writer completes their book it isn’t funny. Truly it isn’t. Stop laughing. The number of rewrites shocked me to begin with, so much so that I lost count of how many I did. Luckily, this is something that becomes easier as time moves on, and most writers will say it takes around seven drafts to complete a book. Just be prepared for the long haul when you first start out.
- So don’t forget you can finish your novel without help, and be assured many do. Just remember the key word: RESEARCH.
Okay, now it’s time to get down to the serious business of the offer I made last week. For those who left a comment asking for a critique, they had their name put into a hat. What could they win? Yours truly will be their second set of eyes to go over the first four pages (or 1200 words thereabouts) of their novel. That’s the first four pages. Not four pages from the middle of the book, but the first four pages. Okay, so for this fabulous critique, the winner is:
*** Amy Kennedy ***
Hey, congratulations, Amy. Please email me the first four pages of your novel as a word document attachment so I can insert “review bubbles” for personalized editing advice. My email address is located under the “Contact tab” on my website, or of course it’s joannewadsworth007@gmail.com
I’ll be making this offer again in the near future as I had a great response–and I’m all for authors supporting authors. You guys rock with the way you support me on my website.
Also on my website, as I post each week’s blog, I update my current news. You’ll find “News this Week” at the top right of the main page–and if you wish to see what I’m up to at a glance, well it’s all recorded right there.
I’d also like to point out some blog hops I’m participating in early next year–and you’ll find those “hop buttons” pictured on the right-hand side of my blog page. If you find you’re also publishing early in the New Year as I am, then check out what I’m up to, as you might find you’d like to join me in my blog hopping adventures with your own book’s promotion. The more the merrier.
You all have the best week.
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PROTECTOR–BUY THE BOOK: Amazon Kindle / B&N Nook / iTunes / Lyrical Press / Kobo.
by Joanne Wadsworth | Oct 25, 2012 | Author Blog
Hey, everyone.
Me and my current WIP have been chummy this week. I’ve slogged through the final proofing of Warrior, a young adult/fantasy/romance, and it’s now complete. Phew. Yay, Woo-hoo.
My first baby book titled Protector has a follow-up, and that makes me sigh with delight.
So, I whipped up a synopsis and a blurb and now Warrior has been submitted to my publisher.
Now the wait. *fingers twiddling*
Will it get accepted? *fingers still twiddling*
I’ll be sure to keep you all posted. *twiddle your fingers with me*
In the meantime, I have a wonderful offer for you all. More than anything, I’ve learnt how important it is to have a second set of eyes go over those first few pages of one’s manuscript. For me, that’s my sister. She’s not a writer, but she’s an avid reader with a discerning eye.
As writers we read our work a thousand times and we know our story inside-out. Which means we occasionally miss something which becomes glaringly obvious once pointed out by another. Hate that, but also love and appreciate it. (Thanks, little sis.)
So, to my offer–everyone who leaves a comment asking for a critique will have their name put into a hat. What do you win? Yours truly shall be your second set of eyes to go over the first four pages (or 1200 words thereabouts) of your novel. That’s the first four pages. Not four pages from the middle of the book, but the first four pages. Okay, so if you’ve been catching my blogs, you’ll know my skills are in the editing department–which means it will be a fabulous critique. You’ll love it.
I’ll pick a winner and post the name next week on my blog, so keep your eye out for who that is. (Particularly the winner, because you’ll need to get in contact with me via email.)
Now, I’m off to hit the promotion trail for Protector which releases on 7th January 2013 with Lyrical Press, NY. PS: We writers truly are the busiest people in the world. *nod if you agree*
Also on my website, as I post each week’s blog, I update my current news. You’ll find “News this Week” at the top right of the main page–and if you wish to see what I’m up to at a glance, well it’s all recorded right there.
by Joanne Wadsworth | Oct 16, 2012 | Author Blog
Visually describing the characters within our books is so important. Some of my favorite books are more memorable because the author has taken the time to portray the images of their characters to the point where they become real and solid in my mind. Let me share what I see as the key points to note, for each time I bring in a new character description, this is visually what I do.
- Imagine yourself standing there, right where your character is.
- Note 2 to 4 key components of what they’re wearing–clothing wise.
- Do the same with 2 to 4 physical attributes–face, hair, eyes, skin, etc.
- Take in their stance, their physical reactions. Are they nervous–their hands twitching. Are they angry–their nose flaring, etc. (There would hundreds of bodily reactions to emotions, and these are just two examples.)
- Remember the five senses. Sight, smell, taste, feel and speak.
- Now take only what you need from this list and visually show your reader what you’re seeing. (Obviously you won’t use everything. This list you’ve just made is simply to expand your options of what you might use.)
- But the important thing to note is: use your imagination to take the description and make it a powerful image.
So, let’s jump to it and see an example, because I find it’s so important to add a showing to my posts. I’ve pulled this together for you.
Example: This is a battle scene and to set it, the heroine is standing in an arena as a fierce group of warriors enter. I’d like to portray what she sees, so I’ll be detailing three character descriptions.
In a single file she watched one man and two warrior women enter the arena. The man at the front of the pack was colossal in size with oily black hair hanging down over his shoulders, and wearing a vest of gray leather. Fire-breathing dragon tattoos curled over the other on his bared chest and arms. Sharp silver spikes were pressed into every inch of his leather belt which held a roughened metal mallet dangling from his side.
She glanced at the women. Scary. One had half her head shaved on either side, giving her a mohawk of bright red. A piece of coiled silver pierced one nostril and round silver hoops looped through both eyebrows. Tight leathers showed off a muscular body.
The second woman wore little less than a strip of black leather to contain her breasts, and black leather pants hugged her hips. The exposed skin from her waist up was painted in a dark camouflaging mud, a bloodied dagger held in one hand. The warrior woman nodded her head with one firm jab.
I know there is a lot of description here, but the reason is to fully draw what the heroine is seeing. I’d say she’s probably quite nervous after witnessing this. I know I would be.
I hope you get my point with character descriptions. You want to have your reader feel as if they’re there, seeing and feeling what you’re trying to portray. Did that come across for you?
I hope you enjoyed this “describing characters” blog post, and that it aided you in some way. If you haven’t joined me for your weekly dose of bite-sized writing tidbits and you’d like to, then simply check out the right-hand side panel, and enter your email address to “follow the blog.” If you want, also click “like” on my FB author page to the right. I love all the support.
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PROTECTOR–BUY THE BOOK: Amazon Kindle / B&N Nook / iTunes / Lyrical Press / Kobo.
by Joanne Wadsworth | Oct 9, 2012 | Author Blog
Coming home to New Zealand from Fiji, our family holiday ended today with a stop at The Hobbit movie’s filming location.
Middle-earth. Yes, that’s the name the world knows it as, but in fact The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the soon-to-be released The Hobbit, filmed the village scenes from the New Zealand town known as Matamata.
Ironically, I’m not new to this town. I was born in Matamata and lived there until the age of seventeen. Hmm, although I don’t recall seeing any Hobbits back then.
Now though, they’re in abundance. Hobbits are everywhere. You can even book the village location–which is still kept in the eye-catching condition as seen in the movies–for your wedding snaps.
So, after touring Hobbiton’s office, I snapped an image of the plaque outside. It’s a nostalgic-cute saying written by J.R.R. Tolkien.
After taking this image, I dashed across the main street with my ten-year-old, and he eagerly took a photograph of me with Gollum. Not the real Gollum, because sadly, who knows where he is.
It was a wonderful trip, and now that I’m home, it’s time to get back to the business of writing. Which for me is the second book in the Magio-Earth series. The first, titled “Protector” releases on 7th January. I can’t wait for that day. My debut novel. I still have to pinch myself that it’s being published. Thanks so much for checking out my blog and catching a little of my family holiday.
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PROTECTOR–BUY THE BOOK: Amazon Kindle / B&N Nook / iTunes / Lyrical Press / Kobo.
by Joanne Wadsworth | Oct 1, 2012 | Author Blog
I’m blogging this week from beautiful Fiji.
Yay. Hubby and I brought the four kiddies along with us to help celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.
This is me. I collapsed on the beach the second I saw the view and my daughter took this picture. I have vowed to bring my laptop to this inspirational location tomorrow to write.
But for today, it was an island adventure. We kayaked and snorkeled all morning. This is the beach where we did.
It’s glorious, isn’t it? I have to keep pinching myself that I’m here
Not long after this, we all walked along the water’s edge. My eight-year-old son raced ahead and up onto the grass edging. I caught up to him as he clambered around a small rowing boat set aside from the others. Leaning over the hull of the one needing a touch of repair, he gasped. “Mum, come look at this. I found two frogs. You have to help them.”
I strolled over to take a look. There were two frogs, splashing around in a puddle of water in the base. “I don’t think they need help.” They looked happy to me, although how they got in there, I had no idea.
You should have seen the horrified look my answer received. “No, Mum.” Blatantly said. “You have to rescue them. Get in the boat. Get them out.”
I blinked several times–I had to rescue a couple of frogs? “Honey, frogs and I don’t get along.” We really didn’t.
My son came around behind me and pushed me into the rowing boat, which meant no, that answer didn’t fly. Oh boy, why do children believe Mum and Dad can do it all?
And where was Dad? Frogs and all things slimy were his specialty.
I gripped the side of the rowing boat. Hubby shouldn’t have been too far behind with the others. Yet as I peered down the beach, he was nowhere to be seen. Typical.
Twenty years and the rascal still knows how to get out of the dirty jobs.
So, I sucked in a deep breath, squished up my nose and got down to the serious business of being a mother. There was plenty of squealing as I launched into the rescue mission. The crafty frogs kept slipping out of my hands. They were determined to remain inside the boat playing in the water. They were having a wonderful time. I was not.
My son cheered me along, clapping from the sidelines when I finally caught them. “You did it,” he beamed.
Thank goodness for that. “Take the frogs.” I passed him the squirmy green critters and scrambled out. “Go deliver them home.”
Which he did to the nearby pond, rattling off the story to Dad when he finally made an appearance.
Interestingly, later that night, it was announced that frog racing would be held down at the rowing boats. Apparently two frogs were caught each morning and raced in the afternoon. Um…
Perhaps this wasn’t going to happen.
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PROTECTOR–BUY THE BOOK: Amazon Kindle / B&N Nook / iTunes / Lyrical Press / Kobo.
Before I jump into answering the header’s question, stay tuned, for at the end of this post, I’ll be announcing the winner of last week’s critique offer.
